Alliance of the Gods
by ShaddowLugia
Summary: Sequel to Predator: Apocalypse. Ten years have passed since Paya-sain'ja joined the clan and saved the human race. All is peaceful but a new threat is coming, one that will throw two enemy races together for mutual survival. Paya-sain'ja must find a way to save the yautja and hish while she faces new challenges within her clan. It will take the power of the gods to save them...
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: I do not own Predators. Welcome to the first chapter of Alliance of the Gods! I've really been looking forward to writing this, and feel I'm finally ready to start. Do keep in mind that I have several stories to keep updated, so I might only get to update about once a week. Hopefully, anyways. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of Predator: Apocalypse, and I hope you all like Alliance of the Gods. Without further adue, enjoy!

**~Chapter One~**

**~Paya-sain'ja~**

_**I**_ said goodbye to Kwei and exited the small, round room where I had my priestess training with her. After spending what felt like hours kneeling in the dim room, my legs were stiff (especially my crippled leg), and the brighter lights of the rest of the ship stung my eyes. Despite that, I was in a good mood. I enjoyed my lessons with Kwei, and was happy to have a plan for my life-I was to become the next High Priestess.

Not even the glares of the other priests could dampen my mood. I was used to getting dirty looks and whispered insults from the yautja, even after ten years living with the Clan. By this time, many were indifferent to me, but some still couldn't accept that I had a place in the Clan. But it was better than before, when I was just an untrained human girl who had yet to prove herself.

Lost in memories, I wandered the ship, remembering how everything about the yautja used to intimidate me. Now, I was perfectly at ease with the big aliens. They were as familiar to me as my own race, perhaps even more so.

I headed over to the medical bay, just as I did after all my lessons. I had expanded my medical training over the years and was now working with the medics regularly. Besides, it gave me plenty of opportunity to talk to Luar-lce.

Said yautja saw me enter and gave me a yautja smile, shaking my shoulder in greeting. "How are you, Paya-sain'ja?" he asked.

"Just fine," I replied. "And yourself?"

I got to work checking on the injured and sick yautja. I liked to make sure they were comfortable and on the mend from their wounds and sicknesses. Not that there were many sick yautja. They were tough against diseases. The patients (and medics) seemed to appreciate my checking on them.

"I'm well," said Luar-lce. He frowned over the mixture of healing gel he was making, then snorted and disposed of it. Perhaps the mix was wrong. "I saw Bakuub earlier. He said Sain'ja has been wanting to see you."

I smiled at the mention of Bakuub's young daughter. She was a fiesty little pup, and seemed to love me as much as her brother did when he was a child. I adored Sain'ja (who made it clear when she wanted to see me even without being able to speak yet) but didn't always have time to see her or her parents.

"I'll go visit them soon," I said. "I haven't seen them lately."

"What about Yeyinde?" asked Luar-lce.

I shook my head a little sadly. "No. He's been gone for a while."

In fact, my old friend and teacher was gone most of the time. Because he'd proven himself by teaching me, he had earned his own ship and now led his own hunting pack. He spent most of his time away from the clan hunting. I was happy for him but missed seeing him.

"I'm sure he will return soon," Luar-lce assured me.

I nodded. I certainly hoped so. We chatted as we worked, and Yeyinde wasn't mentioned again. I couldn't help but feel as though we were growing apart, which I didn't want to happen. He was one of my closest friends. I couldn't bear to lose him.

I was able to keep my mind off of these dark thoughts for the most part, and my work and training helped a lot. Still, that wasn't the only thing nagging at my mind. The gods seemed...distracted, as though there was some disaster in the near future. I knew that they would tell me if it concerned me, but I hated feeling as though they were waiting for something bad to happen. I wanted to know why they seemed so distant and worried.

"Paya-sain'ja, is something bothering you?" asked Luar-lce.

I realized I'd been spacing out thinking about the gods. "I'm fine," I assured him. "Just...thinking."

He didn't seem convinced. "We have everything under control here," he said. "Why don't you take some time off to see Sain'ja?"

I brightened at the thought of visiting the pup. "Are you sure?"

He waved this away. "Go on. You need a break." He smiled at me.

I said goodbye to him and the other medics (whom I'd more or less befriended over the years) and headed out. I felt just a tad guilty about shirking my work but at the same time was actually glad to have a chance to relax and visit Bakuub, Dhi'ki-de, and Sain'ja, who had kind of adopted me into their little family. I remembered when I'd first met their son, Ikthala, and how cute and hyperactive he used to be. Now he was the yautja equivalent of a teenager, and was in training to be a hunter. He was less hyperactive now but still had some of his old curiosity and spirit.

I knocked on the door to Bakuub's quarters and waited for Dhi'ki-de to answer. I knew Bakuub himself wouldn't be there-he would be helping to train young hunters right now. After a long moment of waiting, she opened the door, yellow-green eyes brightening upon seeing me. But that reaction paled in comparison to Sain'ja's. The pup chirped with excitement and reached out for me.

"Hello, Paya-sain'ja," said Dhi'ki-de. "Come in."

I thanked her and went in, accepting Sain'ja from her. The pup happily chattered unintelligably (she was too young to actually talk) in my arms. I smiled down at her, struck again by how much she resembled her father.

"I'm glad you came to visit," Dhi'ki-de said. "Sain'ja missed you."

"I can tell," I said. "How are you?"

She inclined her head. "I'm well," she said calmly. She was a kind yautja, which was rather unusual for a female. Most were somewhat aggressive. "I hope you are as well."

I assured her that I was. And it was true, despite my missing Yeyinde and my worry about the gods' behavoir.

"The priests aren't still giving you a hard time, are they?" asked Dhi'ki-de with a bit of disdain. She felt strongly that the priests shouldn't let their desire for power hate their next High Priestess. Priests were supposed to be above that sort of thing.

"They mostly leave me alone," I said, holding Sain'ja tightly as she squirmed restlessly. "But they still aren't happy about it. I'm sure they'll get over it eventually."

Dhi'ki-de growled. "They'd better."

She was kind most of the time but when it came to her own family, she was protective, and that's when she got aggressive. Somehow, I loved her for it.

We chatted while I played with Sain'ja, who was more than happy to have my attention. She was hyper to the point of craziness, which is why I often affectionately called her "Hulij-bpe", a yautja word for crazy. Her parents were sure that she'd be a hunter someday. It wasn't common (but not unheard-of) for females to hunt, and they often did so solo rather than in a pack. I thought that she'd scare away any prey with her insanity but agreed that she would be a powerful warrior.

Then again, she was still just a pup. We would just have to wait and see.

Once Sain'ja had played to the point of nodding off, I left Dhi'ki-de to put her to sleep and decided I could use some rest myself. I said goodbye to Dhi'ki-de (asking her to say hello to Bakuub for me), then headed back to my own quarters. The room I'd had when I first came to the clan wasn't mine anymore-they'd decided to give me a room near Kwei and the other priests. Fitting my status as priest, the room was fairly larger than my previous quarters.

Tired as I was, it still took me a while to fall asleep once I laid down. And when I did, I dreamed of death and disease, waking in a cold sweat. Kwei had told me that when there was something about to go wrong, priests had premonitions, often in dreams. And I'd had the same nightmares ever since I'd noticed the gods' strange behavior. Strangely, I was the only one having the troubled dreams.

I hoped that meant I was wrong.

...

Please review! So, what do you think so far? Good? Bad? I wanna know! :D


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: I do not own Predators. Hope you all liked the first chapter, even if nothing much happened in it. But it _was_ the opening chapter. Thanks for supporting the sequel everyone! I'm really trying my best to update at least once a week, but if I don't update every week please bear with me. Requests and suggestions always welcome. Enjoy! Oh, and I'm using the Hish from _Predator: Forever Midnight_ by John Shirley, but with my own tweaks.

**~Chapter Two~**

**~Paya-sain'ja~**

_**I**_ _gazed around at the unfamiliar ship, the design different from a yautja ship. It was a more tribal, simple-looking ship but still as mysterious and powerful as one built by a yautja. The being inside were the same as the ship: familiar yet strange. They closely resembled yautja, but with subtle differences. These not-yautja were slightly taller, their "dreadlocks" ending in bright red or deep purple tips. _

_There was a group of these strange yautja, standing in what was clearly a medical bay. Lying on the gurney before them were, to my shock, two dead pups. _

_"The sickness is spreading faster," said one of the not-yautja. He must have been a medic. "And it is still only affecting immature Hish." He shook his head, purple-tipped dreadlocks fanning out slightly behind him. "More are dying each day."_

_Even their language was familliar and strange. They spoke with a different dialect than the yautja I knew, understandable but barely so._

_"Have you managed to find a cure yet?" asked another._

_The medic sighed and shook his head again. "No, Leader. We are working as hard as we can. I wish we knew what to do."_

_The Leader turned to another of the strange yautja. "Have the gods responded to your prayers?" he asked._

_"They assure me everything will be alright," the priest replied. "But they have not yet revealed the answer to our problem."_

_The Leader growled in frusteration. "What are we supposed to do? The gods have abandoned us!"_

_Suddenly, my vision was swept away and I felt the familiar presence of Cetanu, the god of death. _

_"Paya-sain'ja, do not concern yourself with what you've seen," said Cetanu. "Rest and do not worry."_

_With that, I slipped away into dreamless sleep._

...

I was confused when I awoke, feeling troubled. I felt...like there was something I should remember, something very wrong. And it involved the gods. But I couldn't recall what it was. I got up and started getting ready for the day, putting on my priestess armor and brushing out my brown hair, which was just past my shoulders. I made a mental note to cut it before heading out for my training with Kwei. I was so preoccupied with my strange feeling of dread I didn't notice the three priests standing outside the ship's temple until I ran into one of them.

The priest (whom I recognized as Dtai'k-de, one of the priests that most fervently opposed my new rank), snarled at me. "Watch were you are going, ooman," he spat.

"I apologize, Dtai'k-de," I said, doing my best to sound respectful. I tried to not let them affect me.

He glared at me with undisguised hatred. "You should go back to your own filthy planet," he said, which surprised me. Most of the priests didn't ever openly insult me.

I met his gaze with more bravery than I felt. "My place is here," I stated.

"So you say," Dtai'k-de said. "But you don't belong here. Not in our clan, and certainly not among the priests. Your very presence desecrates our temple."

My body stiffened with growing rage. I had as much right to be there as any of them. I spoke to the gods as clearly as they did, perhaps even more so.

Dtai'k-de shoved my shoulder before I could reply. The action stunned me. He was challenging me to jehdin/jehdin-hand-to-hand, one-on-one combat! I quickly weighed my options. Even without my crippled hip, I was no match for a fully-grown, trained yautja. _With_ my hip, there was zero chance of me winning. Still, this challenge wasn't taken lightly among yautja. My honor in the clan was at stake. If I refused to fight, it would be worse than defeat. Worse than death, in yautja eyes.

Therefore, when Dtai'k-de came at me with a punch, I resonded. I sidestepped quickly and grabbed his fist, using his own momentum to throw him away. He didn't move far, though, and skillfully righted himself, snatching my arm and swinging me, chest-first, into the wall. I vaguely heard roars of approval but couldn't think straight. My armor had absorbed most of the shock but the impact forced the breath from my lungs. Gasping for air, I couldn't fight back as Dtai'k-de turned me around and wrapped his hand around my throat, squeezing so I couldn't draw air.

My vision blurred and black spots danced before my eyes. He was going to kill me.

I did the only thing I could: I opened my mouth and bit down on his wrist. Yautja had thick skin but in my desperation I managed to bite hard enough to break the skin and draw a rush of hot blood. I gagged on the bitter taste of the glowing green blood as Dtai'k-de howled with fury and dropped me. Still breathless from being strangled and from the blood, it took me several long moments to get my breath back. Dtai'k-de came at me again, yellow eyes burning with rage.

He threw another punch at me but I sidestepped again. However, this time I overextended my leg and I felt my damaged hip muscles tear. I gasped and went down, clutching my hip. My vision blurred with tears of pain.

Through the haze of tears, I saw Dtai'k-de come at me again, but he froze when a roar of anger filled the hall. Kwei went for Dtai'k-de and swiftly and mercilessly beat him into submission.

"_How dare you_!" she screeched. "How dare you attack Paya-sain'ja?! Of all the dishonorable things to do..."

"Dishonorable?" demanded Dtai'k-de. "Is it, really? I was merely challenging her right to the title of High Priestess. There is no dishonor in that."

"You attacked one weaker than you. A cripple," snarled Kwei. "Tell me, Dtai'k-de: is there now honor in defeating a cripple. One who has no chance of defeating you? I think not." She turned to me and pulled me to my feet, letting me lean my weight against her. My hip wouldn't take my own weight. "Come, Paya-sain'ja. Let's get you to the medical bay."

I nodded and let her take me away, feeling the burning gazes of the priests on my neck. They wouldn't forget this. This would surely be the last straw.

And next time, Kwei wouldn't be around to defend me. They would make sure of it.

...

Please review! So what did you think? I'm personally proud of how this chapter turned out. Hope you liked it! :3

Question: What are you looking forward to most in Alliance of the Gods?

Leave your answer in a review!


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: I don't own Predators. I. Am. So. Freaking. Sorry. For. Being. Such. A. Terrible. Person. I really shouldn't have left you all hanging for so long, and I apologize. It was just...you know, real life being real life, with one thing after another but I freaking promise to get writing again. I'm even planning to post artwork from my stories! It won't be on deviantArt, probably, but definately on my new Tumblr account. My username is d3l1ghtful1ns4n1ty. Feel free to check it out. Enjoy the new chapter. :3

**~Chapter Three~**

**~Kwei~**

_**K**_wei was still fuming when she reached the medical bay, still supporting Paya-sain'ja. Her Ooman apprentice sat on the nearest table while Kwei summoned one of the medics (a younger one named Shi-t'k.

"What happened to you?" Shi-t'k asked her as he examined her damaged him.

She seemed to suppress a hiss. "One of the priests attacked me. I overextended and tore my muscles," she explained.

Shi-t'k rumbled disapprovingly. "Your hip is bad enough as it is," he said, but he didn't seem to be scolding her. "You're going to have difficulty walking after this."

Kwei's anger rose at that. "I should have killed Dtai'k-de for what he did. Now her hip is even worse."

Shi-t'k half-glanced at her. "I'm going to need to perform surgery on your hip," he said to Paya-sain'ja. "That way, I can at least try to get the muscles to heal properly. It won't be easy, considering they're already damaged."

She nodded, looking gloomy. Just then, Luar-lce appeared.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Kwei shortly explained what had happened. Knowing how close Luar-lce was to Paya-sain'ja, she wasn't surprised by how angered the medic was, or that he had started growling deep in his chest just by the mention of an attack. He told Shi-t'k to fix Paya-sain'ja's hip, saying it would be more difficult if he did it later. Shi-t'k hastily agreed and started preparing Paya-sain'ja for the surgery, taking her away from the general med bay to the surgical bay.

"When are those_ s'yuit-de_ morons going to realize she belongs to this clan as a priestess?" Luar-lce snarled darkly.

Kwei looked at him, a little surprised by just how agitated he was. "I doubt most of them ever will accept her. Even if she was Yautja, they would have difficulty accepting that a young one is to be my successor." She sighed. "The fact that she is _not_ Yautja just makes it impossible for them to grasp."

"She may be Ooman, but she is more worthy than them. She was chosen by the gods themselves! Is that not enough?" said Luar-lce.

"It should be, Luar-lce," said Kwei. She knew the medic had strong faith in the gods. "It really should. I am disappointed that it isn't for our priests." She paused. "But it's personal for me as well. Paya-sain'ja is like a daughter to me. I hate to see her treated so dishonorably."

Luar-lce growled his agreement. "I only hope that someday they'll realize their mistake. But somehow...I doubt it will happen."

Saying goodbye, he returned to his duties.

"So do I, Luar-lce," said Kwei softly. She knew Paya-sain'ja was in good hands and wouldn't be able to leave for a while, so she left the medical bay.

She ignored the Yautja in the corridors of the ship as she went back to the temples of the gods. She automatically went to the shrine of Lil'ka, goddess of life and knelt with her eyes closed. Kwei may have been High Priestess and the chief of the gods may have been Cetanu, but her patron had always been his mate, Lil'ka, ever since she was a young priestess. Kwei had always felt a strong connection with the dual-aspect goddess, more so than Cetanu (though she still heard him clearly).

She hadn't told Paya-sain'ja as much, but she, too felt a despair she couldn't quite place. She, too, had noticed a distraction in the Yautja gods. Even now, she couldn't feel her patron goddess as clearly as she usually could. This made her feel even more unsettled about Paya-sain'ja's injury, for some reason.

Despite the fact that she couldn't manage to speak to Lil'ka at the moment, Kwei silently asked her for help and guidance, and to help Paya-sain'ja. She knew her apprentice would have to take care of herself, but she couldn't help but pray for her. As she'd told Luar-lce, she felt like the Ooman was her own pup.

Sometimes, she thought it could be because her own pups had died. Kwei had always wanted pups of her own, but they never survived. She was full of despair, and found peace at last upon becoming a priestess. Now, she felt she knew what it was like to be a mother, even if she hadn't borne Paya-sain'ja, nor was the same species. But she never felt silly in the least for being protective of her. She'd been teaching her since she was little more than a child.

And now she was already an adult in such a short amount of time. It reminded Kwei that Oomans lived such short lives compared to Yautja, and that her apprentice would not live that long (in Yautja time anyway).

She fought back her despair sternly. She couldn't afford to be so weak.

Kwei spent the rest of the day meditating, and fighting her own emotions.

...

Please review! Sorry if it was a bit too feely for you but I wanted to show a motherly side to Kwei (who's one of my favorite AVP OCs).


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: I don't own Predators and never will. Hope you liked the preview chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4**

**~Paya-sain'ja~**

_**I**_ was still groggy from the surgery, so I slept off the rest of the sedative in the medical bay. Shi-t'k had repaired the muscle in my hip as best he could but was still unsure if it would heal properly.

For the first time in a while, I stood before Cetanu in my dreams, in the meeting hall of the gods. I bowed my head and thumped my fist to my chest in respect, and Cetanu nodded in acknowedgment.

"Paya-sain'ja, I am glad you fought for your honor today. Despite what our spiteful priests may say, know you are our chosen High Pristess," he said in his deep rumble of a voice.

"Thank you, Cetanu," I replied.

Just being near him brought back that strange feeling of dread. It felt weird to be seeing him again after so long feeling ignored, and the feeling of worry biting harder in his presence. I didn't say anything though-if there was one thing I'd learned about the gods, it was that they wouldn't give information until they were good and ready to.

"However, I know, as do the rest of the gods, that you are looked down upon by your Clanmates for being a human, and even more so for your crippled hip," continued Cetanu.

I winced inwardly. I already knew this very well. My adoptive Clanmates never let me forget it, not even for a day.

"I say this because I have decided to heal your hip, so that you may defend yourself as necessary. I trust you will train hard to become stronger?" he said.

I was speechless for a long moment. For ten long years, I had dealt with being a cripple. Not just human vermin to most yautja, but a weak one at that, no matter my success in hunting the hybrid. To have my full range of motion back, perhaps I could continue to earn respect. Maybe even hunt again.

"I...I would be honored," I said, voice trembling slightly. "And I promise you I will work hard and earn my place in my clan."

Cetanu lifted a hand and a warm glow enveloped me, the light burning brightest in my hip. When it faded, the deep ache in my hip had faded. I stood straight for the first time in years and kicked my leg expiramentally. There was no pull of damaged muscle, no pain in my hip.

"Thank you so much, Cetanu," I said with a bow.

He dipped his head in response, again looking distracted. "I must go now, Paya-sain'ja. Rest well."

And my dream faded.

...

Please review! So sorry for the short update, but I'll try and update again soon!


	5. Chapter 5

Author Note: I don't own Predators. So sorry for the long wait, everyone. I was grounded for a while (for pretty much no reason), and I was busy with school, so I didn't have time to update. But now that summer vacation is here, I'll be able to update my stories again. However, I might be going to a Reserve basic training camp for six weeks, so I won't be able to update during that time if I do. Enjoy! Also, can't make promises, but I'm going to try and post pictures of my characters on my Tumblr (my name is d3l1ghtful1ns4n1ty).

**Chapter 5**

**~Luar-lce~**

_**L**_uar-lce was checking the supplies in the medical bay when Paya-sain'ja woke up. He started to ask her how she was feeling when she got up and stood on her own. He started over to help her, thinking she was still too groggy from the medication to think clearly when she smiled and held up a hand.

"It's okay, Luar-lce," she said. She walked toward him _without limping_.

"Paya-sain'ja, your hip!" exclaimed the medic in shock.

She laughed. "I know," she said happily. "Cetanu healed my hip, so I would be able to defend myself better. Isn't it great?"

"Yes, it certainly is," said Luar-lce, still numb with shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was so used to seeing Paya-sain'ja with her limp, and now after so long, she was good as new (even with her synthetic eye). The gods truly were on her side, it seemed.

"I'm going to go see Kwei," said Paya-sain'ja. "I should tell her what happened. I'll see you later."

Luar-lce nodded and watched her leave, thinking hard. She was the most interesting ooman he'd ever seen, and just when he thought nothing more about her could surprise him...he was, well, surprised. He was happy for her, though. She'd gotten her hip crippled in a hunt, which at least meant she wasn't dishonored by it, but it still pained him to see the energetic ooman a cripple. Perhaps now she could go on hunts sometimes...and, more importantly, protect herself against those traitorous priests. It made his blood boil with rage just thinking about them.

Luar-lce's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Shi-t'k, who started with surprise at seeing Paya-sain'ja gone.

"Where is Paya-sain'ja?" he exclaimed, clearly worried.

Luar-lce clapped him on the shoulder. "Do not worry about her, Shi-t'k. Her hip was healed by Cetanu. She is alright."

"Healed by Cetanu?" repeated the younger medic. "You mean, she is no longer crippled?"

"I know, it's strange," said Luar-lce. "But yes, she isn't crippled anymore."

Shi-t'k shook his head in confusion and wonder. "She really does have the gods on her side, doesn't she?" he said, bemused.

"That she does," agreed Luar-lce. He watched Shi-t'k get to work, then returned his attention to his own job. Still, his mind wandered to Paya-sain'ja and his amazement at her connection with the gods. He only hoped it would help her prove her worth and live to become High Priestess.

_She _will_ become High Priestess_, Luar-lce assured himself. _Paya-sain'ja is the strongest of all the oomans. She will make it._

With that, he shook off his worries and continued his work.

...

Please review! Yes, I know it's short, but I'm going to get into the plot really soon. :)


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